Perplexity is preparing to introduce a free agentic shopping tool next week for U.S. users, according to a CNBC report. PayPal will be its key partner for the launch. The product will allow consumers to purchase items from more than 5,000 merchants directly without leaving Perplexity’s search engine.

Dmitry Shevelenko, Perplexity’s chief business officer, explained to CNBC that the “agentic” aspect of the product is its ability to allow users to complete purchases seamlessly from the AI’s responses. “Most people still want to do their own research. They want that streamlined and simplified, and so that’s the part that is agentic in this launch,” he told CNBC.

PayPal partnership and merchant setup

Perplexity will integrate with PayPal for its shopping product. According to Michelle Gill, who leads PayPal’s agentic strategy, the company has been building infrastructure and protections to support AI-driven commerce. Users buying through Perplexity will still benefit from PayPal’s buyer protection policies, which cover refunds or issues with transactions.

Unlike Perplexity’s earlier “Buy With Pro” offering, where the company handled purchases as an intermediary, the new product allows PayPal merchants to serve as the merchants of record. This means they will manage purchases, returns, and customer service directly. Gill told CNBC that this setup is part of connecting consumers and merchants to PayPal across new AI platforms.

Enhanced shopping personalization

CNBC reports that Perplexity’s free agentic shopping tool will detect shopping intent more accurately than “Buy With Pro.” The product will draw on memory from users’ past searches to deliver more personalized results. The company did not disclose whether it will earn revenue from transactions.

A shift in how Perplexity approaches e-commerce

The update is one of the company’s steps into e-commerce as it tries to capture a share of the growing AI shopping market. AI platforms are increasingly integrating shopping features that could impact how brands and merchants connect with consumers. OpenAI’s Instant Checkout has already partnered with Shopify, Etsy, and PayPal, allowing users to purchase items directly through ChatGPT. 

The move also adds to Perplexity’s push into consumer-facing AI products. Over the past few months, the company has launched tools like its Comet browser and other features that show how it is ramping up efforts in the search and AI assistant market.

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